Volunteer Sentry
by Kalira69
Summary: In the ruins of an unknown planet, Pidge sticks around to see if she can get anything useful out of long-abandoned computer systems. Keith stays to watch her back.


". . .what are you doing?" Pidge asked, leaning back on her heels and looking up.

Keith had just drawn the knife from the small of his back, but he wasn't squared off for an attack, instead he only moved to lean against one of the pillars behind her. He raised his eyes from the blade to meet her gaze. "Are you planning to leave before you finish . . . whatever you're doing in there?" he asked, pointing at the open panel in the wall with the knife.

"No, of course not!" Pidge said, affronted. "I _told_ you guys, I'm going to see if I can work out a translation protocol and get enough juice running through the system to at least copy the data - there could be valuable information in the-"

"So I'm staying, as long as you do." Keith said without waiting for her to finish. "We swept the palace but we can't be sure it's all clear, especially with that jungle right outside," he jerked his head, indicating the way they'd come in the half-ruined palace, "so someone should watch your back while you're working."

Pidge stared at him for a minute. "Well? Don't you have . . . tech expert things to do?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes. . ." Pidge allowed, cocking her head.

"Go on then." Keith suggested, shifting his hips and crossing his ankles. He ran his thumb over the edge of his knife, humming consideringly. He pulled a cloth from one of his hip pouches and began polishing the flat of the blade.

Pidge shook her head slightly, still thrown, but leaned her head and shoulders back into the open panel and resumed sorting through cables for one she could use. "Ouch!"

"Pidge?" Keith asked, his voice slightly tinny when it reached her, halfway inside the wall. Must be more metal in it than it looked like - it had seemed like just stone.

"I'm okay!" Pidge called back, sucking at her fingertips. "I singed myself on a stripped cable." Her own voice was even tinnier, and loud in the tight space. Keith didn't say anything else, or interrupt her, so she got back to work.

Eventually the cables stopped burning out from the connection and needing to be spliced anew, so Pidge wriggled back out of the wall and got comfortable, her laptop on her folded legs and her back to the wall beside the open panel. Keith didn't move, apparently content to stay where he was for as long as Pidge took to finish her work.

He was still lounging against the pillar and still idly polishing his knife when Pidge finally _did_ finish up, mind buzzing with the possibilities of the information she'd skimmed through as she copied it to her drives.

"All set?" Keith asked as Pidge closed down her laptop, disconnected it and the Altean storage drives she'd networked together with the ruined palace.

"Yeah!" Pidge said happily, sliding her things back into her bag. A gloved hand appeared in front of her face, and Pidge looked up, clasping Keith's hand and letting him draw her to her feet. "Thanks for, uh, waiting with me."

Keith shrugged. Pidge slung her bag over her shoulder and headed towards the exit where the pod was parked on a high balcony. "We don't know what's out here, someone needed to watch your back." he said uncomfortably. "I don't mind."

Pidge shouldered into him lightly. "I guess being bored isn't much for you, mister 'I like the quiet out here'." she teased, and Keith dropped an arm around her and squashed her against his ribs in retaliation, making her laugh and squirm, trapped. His lean figure was like steel under his loose jacket, but despite the squashing, he was carefully gentle.

"I don't know, your muttering to yourself can be pretty entertaining." Keith said dryly, and Pidge scrunched her nose up. "It's cute." he added, and Pidge stumbled, startled. Keith steadied her without breaking stride, tugging her along with him.

She looked up, but of course - it was _Keith_ \- he didn't look flustered or embarrassed or . . . much of anything different. She couldn't tell how he'd meant that, or if he really had at all. She snorted, irritated with herself for letting a comment affect her at all.

" _You're_ cute." Keith said before he pulled away when they reached the pod, smiling crookedly. Pidge grinned back, realising belatedly it was her slightly goofy, deranged-looking smile, but Keith's expression didn't change, he just rested a hand on her back and nudged her inside. "Let's get back to the Castle so you can start playing with your new toys."


End file.
